Record Breaking Wildfires

USPA NEWS - At the June 4th, 3pm wildfire press conference, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston advised the ban on travel within wooded areas throughout the province will be lifted as of 0001 on Monday June 5th, but stressed the province wide burn ban is STILL in place until further notice and will be enforced with $25,000 fines issued to those who ignore the restriction.

Never have the residents of Nova Scotia embraced the forecasted rain with such joy and enthusiasm as over the last couple of days. With major wildfires ravaging parts of the province, hot dry weather experienced earlier this past week made the situation much more difficult to deal with. Early estimates from the Provincial Government say that there are somewhere between 150 to 200 homes and other structures destroyed by the wildfires. As there are still active fires, officials will not have an exact number as many areas are still not safe to enter to assess the damage.

The rain this weekend has allowed fire fighters to make significant gains in containment of some of the wildfires. In some cases this afternoon(Sunday, June 4th) officials are allowing more residents back into their homes and neighborhoods. At this time, fire officials are declaring that the Tantallon fire is 100% contained which means that the fire is still active, but within a more controlled environment. When a wildfire is described as being contained, it is surrounded by either natural breaks (road, lake, river, etc.) or a dozer line or hose line.

Although the wildfires in Halifax County are 100% contained, the wildfire in Shelburne County/ Barrington Lake, which is the largest in the province's history, continues to burn out of control.

An Emergency Alert issued at 1445 AST advised some mandatory evacuation orders in the Tantallon area are being lifted as of 1500 local time. Please visit the following links for full details and latest updates. www.halifax.ca/fire and https://www.halifax.ca/home/news/municipal-fires-impacts-update-june-4-345-pm